Setback refrigerator



Dec. 9, 1947. G. c. EARLE I 2,432,397

SET-BACK REFRIGERATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1944 I N V EN TOR.

A TTOPNE V Patented Dec. 9, 1947 sa'rnacxnaralcaaa'roa Guyon 11.0. Earle, Forest Hills, N. Y., assignor, by direct and mesne assignmenta, to Hugh 8.

Wertz, as trustee Application January 15,1944, Serial No. 518,389

1 Claims. (ci. ea -8a) This application relates to refrigerators and 7 more specifically to refrigerators adapted for special situations where the standard box-type refrigerator' is not satisfactory.

Itis an object of this invention mechanical refrigerators. v t

It is another object of this invention to provide to provide novel mechanical refrigerators having novel shapes. 7 It is still; another object of this invention. to provide novel combinations involving refrigerators and otherarticles.

In the usual kitchen arrangement, the refrig-- erator is of the box type, that is, the front-of the refrigerator is substantially in a plane which is parallel to the plane of the frigerators "of the set-back" type have been used, that is, a refrigerator wherein the front plane of the upper portion ofthe refrigerator (containing the evaporator.) is behind or set back from'the plane of the front of the lower portion of the refrigerator, (see, forexample, Earle.

' Patent 2,180,460, issued November 21, 1939, and

Earle Patent 2,312,326, issued March 2, 1943) in each of these the rear plane of the upper refrigerated portion has been a continuation of the rear plane of the lower refrigerated portion or a plane rear. While reerator of larger "cubic footage can be provided without taking up any more wall or floor space in i. the kitchen. If desired, a sink can be mounted in the table top member, over all or a portion of the lower part of the'refrigerator covered by the table top. Also, the refrigerator can form. part of a unit which includesa stove.

The invention is also capable of being used in motor boats or in other places where, due to the presence of a deck or other horizontal member,

I the vertical wall space is limited; In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a refrigerator is provided which has a lower portion which projects to the rear of the upper portion and extendsunder the deck or other horizontal member. 'The-front of the upper portion can be in the same plane as the front of the lower portion or in a different plane. By this means, a refrigerator of very comfortable capacity canbe fitted into a space that is entirely unsuited to a box-type refrigerator of the same at the rear of the latter. In either situation, the

cold air from the evaporator is deflected forwardly into the front of the lower portion of the refrigerator.

. Special cases arise, however, when, in order to utilize to the maximum extent the limited space available in small apartments or houses or in boats, none of these refrigerators is an entirely satisfactory solution to the problem. The present invention, in some of its more important aspects, relates to the solving of some of these special problems. In all of the refrigerators provided in accordance with this invention, the rear plane of the lower portion of the refrigerator is located behind the rear-plane of the upper portion thereof forreasons which will now be made clear.

' In apartment houses, the room layout is often such that a kitchen wall of one apartment abuts Ia bathroom wall of that apartment or of another apartment. Kitchen space in apartment houses is always at a premium and; it is also desirable to I provide as large a refrigerator as space will permit. In accordance with one exemplary-embodiment of the invention, the rear part of the lower refrigerated portion of a set-back refrigerator is set back in to the wall between the kitchen and the bathroom so as to utilize at least a portion of the space under the basin in the latter,

- which space-is usually wasted. Thus, a refrigcapacity.

The invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevationview, with-portions broken away, of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of the invention- Fig. .3 shows in perspective a modificationof the arrangement shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the arrangement .of Fi 3.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, Fig. Q

1 shows, asone example of the invention, a kitchen and bath arrangement of refrigerator l0 and basin Ii suitable for small apartments. Fig.

1 is a side view with portions in cross-section.

The refrigerator l0 preferably comprises a lower refrigerated portion 20 supported on a recessed base 2|, an upper refrigerated portion 22 located above the lower portion 20 but the front plane of which is set back from the front plane of the lower portion 2|), and a table top member 23 of stainless steel or Monel metal, for example,

' positioned above that part of the lower portion which juts out-in front of the upper portion 22.

The upper portion 22 comprises an insulated enclosure member containing an evaporator 30, the coils of which surround ice cube trays 31, 32, and 33 and which are connected to the compressor unit (not shown) which may be located under the lower-portion of the refrigerator or at the side thereof. One or more doors 34 provide access to the upper portion 22. Shelves may also be provided in the upper portion at the side of the evaporator. The back of the upper portion is preferably placed contiguous (or nearly so) the wall 35 between the kitchen l2 and the bath l3.

The lower portion 20 of the refrigerator comprises an insulated enclosure member, the back wall 31 of which is positioned well behind the back wall 35 of the upper portion 22. The back wall 31 is preferably placed contiguous (or nearly so) the wall 38 between the kitchen l2 and the bath l3 which wall forms part of a protuberance or bulge in the wall 35. Above this bulge is placed, for example, the basin II. It is obvious that the invention is not limited to any specific type of fixture or article which is placed above the bulge in the wall 35 nor need the room adjoining the kitchen be a bathroom. The important thing about this aspect of the invention which should be kept in mind is that space in a room other than the kitchen (which space has little or no value) is utilized to make possible the use of a refrigerator of larger capacity than would otherwise be possible.

The lower portion 20 may be provided with one or more doors or drawers. The drawing shows, by way of example, four drawers 4t, 42, 43, and 44 but obviously more or less than this number can be provided, if desired. The bottom drawer M is preferably longer than the others so that a rapid circulation of cold air can be maintained behind the upper drawers as disclosed in Earle Patent 2,312,326. The upper drawers can be of the same length (horizontal distance measured from the front) or they can be of gradually increasing lengths from topto bottom as shown in Fig. 1. If desired all of the drawers below the top one can be of the same length. To deflect the cold air from the evaporator to the rear of v the lower portion, the angularly disposed deflecting member 50 is provided while a similar member 5! can be utilized to deflect cold air to the front of the lower refrigerated portion. One or both of these deflecting members can be omitted, if desired. As an alternative evaporator coils can be located in'the lower portion of the refrigerator to provide for its refrigeration. Such an arrangement is disclosed in a cop'ending application of Guyon L. C. Earle, Serial No. 518,391, filed January 15, .1944. Still another means of.

obtaining refrigerated air in the lower portion of the refrigerator isto place mesh or grill cages 52, 53, and 54' in one or more of the three upper drawers over mesh or slit portions in the respective drawer bottoms sothat cold air from the evaporator can reach a drawer or drawers under the top one. f The purpose of the mesh cages is to prevent the storage of food in a small portion of each drawer so that the flow of cold air to the lower drawers is unimpeded. If desired, a vertical partition member 55 can be placed in each of the cages 52, 53 and 54 to cause the cold air to be deflected to both the front and rear of each drawer. If only one mesh cage is provided it should be placed in the top drawer. In addition, cold air is distributed by conduction when the drawers are of metal and by radiation. Thus tion 6| and a lower refrigerated portion 62 the back wall 53 of which is placed at the rear of the back wall 64 of the upper portion BI. The lower portion 62 is adapted to project between two horizontal members 65 and 66 separated by a distance which is less than the total height of the refrigerator. By way of example, the two members 65 and 66 can comprise an upper and a lower deck of a'motor boat 61, a portion of which is shown in cross-section in Fig. 2. The front of the upper portion 6| of the refrigerator, which contains an evaporator 30 enclosing ice cube trays 3|, 32 and 33 can be set back from the front of the lower portion 62, as in the arrangement of Fig. 1, or it can be in substantially the same plane as that containing the front of the lower portion. The lower portion preferably contains drawers 4!, 42, 43 and 44 as in Fig. 1 containing, if desired, one or more of the mesh cages 52, 53 and 54 as in Fig. 1. Deflecting members 58 and 69 can be provided to deflect cold air from the evaporator toward the rear of the lower portion 62. By this means, or by other suitable means, a cold air circulation is set up behind each drawer and in each drawer. The advantages of the arrangement of Fig. 2 will be readily apparent for were it not for the unusual shape of the refrigerator of this invention the space between the decks 65 and 66 could not be utilized to maximum advantage.

Figs. 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 being a front perspective of a kitchen unit including a refrigerator, a stove and a sink, while Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Fig. 3. .In these two figures,

members or elements which have the same reference characters as corresponding members or elements in Fig. 1 are similar to them and have similar functions.

The unit 10 of Fig. 3 comprises a refrigerator unit H, a sink or basin 12 and a stove H3. The unit H is like that shown in Fig. 1 except that the top drawer 4| is placed a little lower than in the arrangement shown in that figure to permit the sink or basin 12 to be placed in the table top 23 in front of the refrigerator or partially in front of the refrigerator and partially in front both the upper and lower portions of the reof the stove as shown in Fig. 3. The stove 13 comprises two or more burners Hi set in the table top, an upper oven l5 and a lower oven 16. The

refrigerator and stove are well insulated to prevent heat transfer between them. For a more complete description of a stove of the set-back type reference is made to Patent 2,180,459, issued November 21, 1939, to Guyon L. C. Earle. The rear of the lower portion of the stove may be in the sameplane as the back wall 31 or in front of this. The unit of Fig. 3 is readily adaptable to small apartment kitchens orto galleys of motor boats, for example.

Various changes can .be made in the various embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is indicated by the claims.

What is claimed is:

' 1. A refrigerator unit comprising a lower enclosure member having a back wall, side walls and a front wall, an upper enclosure member 10- cated above said lower enclosure member and having a back wall the rear plane of which is in front of the rear plane of the lower enclosure member, side walls and a front wall, each of said enclosure members having a space adapted to be refrigerated, an evaporator, at least a large portion of which is located in said upper enclosure member, and means including said evaporator for causing both of said enclosure members to be refrigerated, said last-mentioned means includin a member angularly positioned with respect to the horizontal for deflecting cold air from said evaporator to the rear portion of said lower enclosure member which is behind an extension of the rear plane of the upper enclosure member.

2. A refrigerator unit comprising a lower enclosure member having a back wall, side walls and a front wall, an upper enclosure member located above said lower enclosure member and having a back wall the rear plane of which is in front of the rear plane of the lower enclosure member, side walls and a front wall, each of said'enciosu're members having a space adapted to be refrigerated, an evaporator, at least a large portion of which is located in said upper enclosure member, and means including said evaporator for causing both of said enclosure members to be refrigerated, said last-mentioned means including a member angularly positioned with respect to the horizontal for deflecting cold air from said evaporator to the rear portion of said lower enclosure member and a second deflecting member angularly positioned with respect to the horizontal for deflecting cold air from said evaporator to the front portion of said lower enclosure member.

3. A refrigerator unit comprising a lower enclosure member having a back wall, side walls and a front wall, an upper enclosure member located above said lower enclosure member and having a back wall the rear plane of which is in front of the rear plane of the lower enclosure member, side walls and a front wall, each of said enclosure members having a space adapted to be refrigerated, an evaporator, at least a large portion of which is located in said upper enclosure member, and a plurality of drawers in said lower member, at least the upper oneor ones of said drawers having an opening or openings in the lower part thereof to permit cold air from the evaporator to reach a drawer or drawers under the top one and at least the bottom drawer extending behind an extension of the rear plane of the upper enclosure member.

4. A refrigerator unit comprising a lower enclosure member having a back wall. side walls and a front wall, an upper enclosure member located above said lower enclosure member and having a back wall the rear plane of which is in front of the rear plane of the lower enclosure member. side walls and a front wall. each of said enclosure members having a space adapted to be refrigerated, an evaporator, at least a large portion of which is located in said upper enclosure member. a plurality of drawers in said lower member, at least the upper one or ones of said evaporator to reach a '6 drawers having an opening or openings in the lower part thereof to permit cold air from the drawer or drawers under the top one and a mesh cage positioned above the said opening or openings.

5. A refrigerator unit comprising a lower enclosure member having a back wall, side walls and a front wall, an upper enclosure member located above said lower enclosure member and having a back wall the rear plane of which is in front of the rear plane of the lower enclosure member,'side walls and a front wall, each of said enclosure members having a space adapted to be refrigerated, an evaporator, at least a large portion of which is located in said upper enclosure member, a plurality of drawers in said lower member, at least the upper one or ones of said drawers having an opening or openings in the lower part thereof to permit cold air from the evaporator to reach a drawer or drawers under the top one, and means for deflecting cold air in a generally horizontal direction both in front of and to the rear of said opening or openings.

6. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in which said deflecting member is vertically arranged.

' 7. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in which said deflecting member makes an angle with the horizontal of less than a right angle.

8. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in which said bottom enclosure member extends beyond both the front and therear of said upper enclosur member.

9. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in which said bottom enclosure member extends beyond both the front and the rear of said upper enclosure member and in further combination with a table-top member above that portion of said bottom enclosure member which is in front of said upper enclosure member.

10. The combination of elements as in claim 5 in which said last-mentioned means comprises a vertical partition in each drawer containing said opening or openings and positioned above said opening or openings.

GUYON 1.. c. EARLEe REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 37.095 Haefiner Dec. 9. 1862 2,180.460 Earle Nov. 21. 1939 2,312,326 Earle Mar. 2. 1943 117.408 Gravenstine July 25. 1871 92,246 Baldwin July 6, 1869 

